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© Craig Fuller
British tenor Ruairi Bowen is increasingly in demand on both the operatic and concert stage.
In March 2026 he made his debut with Gran Teatro La Fenice as Decio in Vivaldi's Ottone in Villa. Other notable engagements in the 2025 /26 season included Bach's Weihnachts Oratorium with Irish Baroque Orchestra / Peter Whelan, and Evangelist in Bach's Johannes-Passion at Smith Square Hall with Polyphony / Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) conducted by Stephen Layton. He is currently engaged by the Old Theatre of Vilnius in a co-production with Operomanija of Handel's Acis & Galatea, where he sings Damon under the direction of Trevor Pinnock.
Engagements in recent seasons have included his debut with English National Opera as Earl Tolloller in G&S's Iolanthe; Thespis – Mercure in Rameau's Platée for National Theatre, Prague, due for revival in 2027 & 2028; Evangelist in Bach's St John Passion with Polyphony / OAE, A Baroque Christmas with English Baroque Soloists, Lechmere in Britten's Owen Wingrave at Festival della Valle d'Itria in Martina Franca, First Armed Man Die Zauberflöte with Scottish Chamber Orchestra at Edinburgh International Festival; staged performances of Die Schöpfung at Lithuanian National Opera; multiple roles in Purcell's The Indian Queen with Le Concert d’Astrée, Cyril Princess Ida with OAE, Evangelist / Arias St John Passion with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, J. S. Bach’s Easter Oratorio with OAE and Lili Boulanger’s Faust et Hélène with Royal Orchestral Society
An experienced interpreter of Baroque music, he has collaborated with some of the leading conductors in the field including Emmanuelle Haïm, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Stephen Layton, Vaclav Luks, Peter Whelan Christophe Rousset, Diego Fasolis and Trevor Pinnock. Concert engagements have included Bach's Messe in h-moll with Opole Philharmonic Orchestra and Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra; Handel’s Messiah at Dubai Opera House, Bach's Weihnachts Oratorium with Britten Sinfonia; Magnificat and Messe in h-moll at Tilford Bach Festival and Johannes-Passion with both the Adelaide and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras. Equally at home in symphonic repertoire, he performed Vaughan Williams’ A Cotswold Romance with the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra and made his debut with the Philharmonia singing Dvorak’s Requiem at the 2022 Three Choirs Festival, returning in 2023 to sing Vaughan Williams' Sancta Civitas.
A graduate of King's College, Cambridge, he was invited to sing on Proud Songsters, an album of English Solo Song recorded with pianist Simon Lepper, featuring distinguished former members of the world-famous chapel choir. His broadcasts and recordings further include Delius’ Hassan – Complete Incidental Music with Britten Sinfonia on Chandos CD, Percy Grainger’s Brigg Fair and Nathaniel Dett’s Music in the Mine for BBC Radio 3, Stanford's Mass Via Victrix with the BBC National Orchestra & Chorus of Wales on Lyrita CD and Howells’ Sine Nomine with Iain Farrington, Charlie Lovell-Jones and Hilary Cronin conducted by David Hill.
Growing up in the Welsh Marches, he developed a keen interest in exploring the integrated relationship between poetry and nature through pastoral song, with recent highlights including Britten’s Winter Words and Finzi’s Dies Natalis in Salisbury Cathedral with William Vann, and a celebration of Gustav Holst’s centenary with Nigel Foster at the London Song Festival. During the live music hiatus in 2020/21, he was a Support Worker for the Children's Section of the British Refugee Council, and formed part of The Hampstead Collective, an ensemble drawn from the musicians in the resident octet at Hampstead Parish Church, with whom he has performed many of Bach’s sacred works. He continues his studies with John Lattimore and Sam Queen, and plays regularly for Addiscombe Cricket Club in the Surrey Championship.
